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New East Ocean Palace, Forest Hills

I’m trapped in Philadelphia this weekend because of the freezing cold. I will not venture out for fear of the cold. My thoughts wander to what my family and friends would be doing right now and dimsum came to mind. In Forest Hills, the only good place is at the New East Ocean Palace. At this place, carts with baskets of small plates are wheeled around. It’s as close as you can get to checking out your meal before ordering.

The Regulars:

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: (1) Siomai, open faced pork dumplings with shrimp and mushroom. (2) Har Gow, shrimp dumplings. (3) Xiao Long Bao, Shanghainese soup dumplings. It’s important to enjoy this with julienned ginger and a few drops of black vinegar. (4) Ha Cheung Fun, Shrimp in rice noodle roll. It’s important to ask for the sweet soy. It heightens the flavor profile.

Going to the Dark Side:

Feeling adventurous? These are my recommendations. They are not too extreme in taste or texture. It’s a good intermediate level for the non-dimsum person. If you’ve enjoyed these small plates, you’re ready for tripe and chicken feet.CLOCKWISE F ROM TOP LEFT: (1) Lo Pak Ko, pan fried turnip cake. Each square has a few chinese sausage bits. It’s served with oyster sauce on the side. I’m not too excited about the oyster sauce. There’s enough flavor coming from the sausage. (2) Sin Chuk Yuen, deep fried glutinous rice stuffed with pork and mushrooms. (3) Yeung Qi Dze, eggplant stuffed shrimp. (4) Pai Dan Shou Rou Zhou, it’s congee or rice soup with shredded pork with preserved egg. Yes, it’s the thousand year old egg. It’s mixed into the congee in small bits so you get just a sampling in every bite.